Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Up 0.1%

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s share price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $165.49 and last traded at $163.71. Approximately 4,554,805 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 27,602,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.08.

Alphabet Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.79. The company has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $84.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 26.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 30,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,623,355.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.84, for a total value of $4,113,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,204,885 shares in the company, valued at $403,141,173.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $125,126.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,650 shares in the company, valued at $5,623,355.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 180,167 shares of company stock worth $29,762,606 over the last ninety days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alphabet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.